Journey on the Wild Coast
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From the Puget Sound to the Bering Sea: Four thousand miles along the edge of the Pacific, by foot, packraft, and skis. An expedition to explore and communicate the broad environmental issues facing this region.
Latest post June 28, 2008
Our journey ended on day 385: June 9 2007 to June 27 2008
End of the Line We went to Scotch Cap because it was the closest to where we couldn't go. In 1946, a tsunami swept the shores of Unimak Island, destroying the Scotch Cap lighthouse at its southwestern tip. From our viewpoint at the... [More]
Overview Route Map
What are we doing?
From Seattle to the Aleutian Islands, by human power: Journey on the Wild Coast will be an unprecedented four-thousand-mile expedition along the northern edge of the Pacific Ocean, through some of the most rugged terrain in the world. No road or trail follows this steep and fragmented coastline. We'll be traveling through forests, between islands, around glaciers, and across the tundra - by foot, packraft, and skis. No one has done this before.We'll begin at our front door in the heart of urban Seattle (June 9, 2007), and will pass through some of the most remote and wild places in North America, finishing at the first Aleutian island (estimate: June 2008). This year-long journey will take us through summer, fall, winter, and spring - from the Puget Sound to the Bering Sea.
During our journey, read what's happening on our blog. Upon our return, I'll be writing a book, giving talks, and publishing information, stories, photos and maps on this website.
Why are we doing it?
This is a journey for the sake of the wilderness itself. Our 4000 mile path will be a megatransect for the Pacific Coast, raising awareness of conservation issues by exploring the state of the environment.In these last wild corners of the world, the fate of much of the land is still being decided.
The mission of our journey is to explore, study, and communicate the key environmental issues facing this coast; clearcutting of the rainforests, the decline of wild salmon, pollution caused by mineral extraction, and global warming. We've chosen these issues because they're broadly important to the region we'll be traveling, because we feel the perspective we'll gain from this trip will help to shed light on them, and because they're issues where people can still have a large impact on what happens.
In four thousand miles of coastline, we pass in and out of civilization, from areas well explored by suburban commuters to areas rarely visited by a modern human being. Parts of this coast are as wild and remote as anywhere on earth. We will see places where development has been done well, and places where it has been done badly. We'll walk through places at the far end of nowhere - far from the public eye, but in the center of environmental battlegrounds. I hope we'll be able to communicate both the current state of these environments, and what faces them going into the future.